CIVILNET

In this episode of Insights , host Eric Hacopian focuses on Armenia’s conscription reforms, and asks if it’s the correct approach to solving the military’s many issues. Hacopian breaks down the key changes to the draft law, including new payment tiers to reduce service time and harsher penalties for those who dodge it. He also addresses the lack of trust between the military and the people it prot...

📍 Armenia will lift visa requirements for citizens of Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia in a bid to boost tourism and attract more foreign investments.📍 Armenian officials confirmed they are in talks with Georgian counterparts over moves by Tbilisi to block Armenian brandy and wine exports to Russia.📍 Armenia’s gross domestic product expanded by 5.2% year-on-year in the first quarter, the country...

In this episode of the CivilNet podcast, political analyst Eric Hacopian covers some of the major developments in Armenia this week. He addresses speculation around Yerevan’s potential inclusion in the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords and explores how the Trump administration may use the platform to reshape the South Caucasus. Hacopian also examines renewed efforts by Russia to reassert influence in...

Author Birgit Kofler joins CivilNet to explore the history and legacy of Operation Nemesis - the covert mission to assassinate the orchestrators of the Armenian Genocide. Drawing from her book _I Have Killed, But I Am Not a Murderer_ , Kofler considers the legal and moral questions surrounding the operation, as well as the broader consequences of genocide denial and impunity. Reflecting on Nemesis...

Dr. Taner Akçam, a renowned Turkish historian and the inaugural director of the Armenian Genocide Research Program of the Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA, joins CivilNet to discuss the need to shift from genocide recognition to restitution in the fight for justice. Following the formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the U.S., Akçam argues that the next phase must focus on reparations -...

In this episode of Insights, host Eric Hacopian covers three key developments shaping Armenia's regional and domestic landscape. He begins with the cancelled summit between Israeli and Turkish officials in Baku, examining the deeper strategic divide over the future of Syria, and how it could create opportunities for Armenia. Hacopian also argues why Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s decision to...

Global health advocate Pat Garcia-Gonzalez, CEO of The Max Foundation, sits down with CivilNet to reflect on two decades of work in Armenia, highlighting the country’s significant progress in cancer care alongside the critical gaps that persist. She explains how with better education for patient advocacy, reduced stigma, and expanded government health coverage for diagnostics and medication, Armen...

📍 A group of civil society organizations and concerned citizens filed a lawsuit challenging the Armenian government’s decision to grant the operator of the long-stalled Amulsar gold mine a $150 million loan guarantee. Lydian did not immediately comment.📍 Armenia’s Central Bank held interest rates unchanged at 6.75%, citing increased global uncertainty amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalatin...

In this episode of the CivilNet podcast, commentator Eric Hacopian surveys the political field ahead of the 2026 Armenian parliamentary elections, which will pit Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan against known and possibly yet-to-emerge opposition figures. He discusses the impact that a referendum to change the country’s constitution will have on Pashinyan’s prospects, as well as what it will take fo...

This week’s episode of Insights examines the Vatican’s recent hosting of a propaganda event orchestrated by the Azerbaijani regime- part of a broader effort by Baku to erase Armenian heritage in Artsakh. Host Eric Hacopian gives recommendations on how to confront and dismantle Baku’s global lobbying machine, built on corruption, co-opted institutions, and the rebranding of ethnic cleansing. The ep...

Dr. Marat Terterov, co-founder of the Brussels Energy Club and the European Geopolitical Forum, discusses the current situation of the European Union’s relations with the South Caucasian countries- Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. He also explains his vision for regional cooperation in the South Caucasus, and the steps needed to discourage conflict and foster stability. #CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ

The 2025 International Ice hockey Federation World Championship returns to Armenia for the first time in 15 years. After being suspended from the Federation in 2010, Armenia has reclaimed its place in the ice hockey scene with Yerevan hosting Division 4 of the Championship. Armenia’s national team also racked up an impressive record during the week-long tournament. #CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ

Due to the war in Côte d'Ivoire, football player Yao Silven Kouassi moved to Armenia. After he was unable to continue his career because of an injury, Silven decided to stay in Armenia and develop a youth football program. He is now a football coach in the Tavush region’s Teghut village, where he is known as Mr. Silven. A cause de la guerre en Côte d'Ivoire, le footballeur Yao Sylvain Koua...

📍 Armenia’s business community collected more than 2,300 signatures from entrepreneurs on a petition demanding the government repeal a policy that doubles taxes on small businesses. The changes, which business owners say will lead to mass closures, came into force at the beginning of the year.📍 Armenia’s long-stalled Amulsar gold mine expects to pay some $120 million in taxes every year and crea...

📍 Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced that Armenia is hopeful for a positive outcome regarding the European Union Peace Facility’s proposal to allocate €20 million to the country this year.📍 Amid ongoing pressure from Azerbaijan to amend Armenia’s Constitution, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said yesterday that in his view, the new draft should not include a reference to the 1990...

In this in-depth interview, internationally renowned expert on the Middle East, Gilles Kepel, explores the complex dynamics of political Islam. He evaluates the future of Iran’s regime in the face of internal struggles and international pressure, and considers what might be a fracture in the close alliance between Turkey and Azerbaijan amid their diverging political-religious paths.#CivilNet #Սիվի...

📍 At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized cautious optimism in efforts to normalize ties with Turkey and finalize a treaty with Azerbaijan. 📍 Armenian rights groups have asked the government to delegate consular protection of the detainees in Baku to Switzerland, following Azerbaijan’s suspension of the International Committee of the Red Cross from fu...

On the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, CivilNet’s reporter Arshaluis Mgdesyan had a brief conversation with Serdar Kılıç, Turkey’s Special Envoy for Normalization with Armenia.#CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ

In this episode of Insights, host Eric Hacopian explores the global energy market downturn triggered by the Trump administration tariffs and the potential impact on Armenia and the region. He also covers the wave of protests sweeping Turkey and what it reveals about the deep challenges facing Turkish society. #CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #insightswitherichacopian

Narek Sukiasyan is a political science lecturer at the American University of Armenia and the author of a chapter in “Broken Shield”, a new volume on the Second Karabakh War published by Newmag. In this interview, he examines the strategic dynamics between Russia and Armenia during and after the 2020 44-Day War. Sukiasyan discusses the long-term misalignment between Moscow and Yerevan, the implica...

📍 The United States imposed a 10% tariff on all imports from Armenia, as President Donald Trump escalates his global trade war. Trade between the two countries amounted to $410 million last year, representing less than 1.5% of Armenia’s total trade.📍 Armenia’s national debt surpassed $13 billion, pushing the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio to more than 53%, according to the latest figures from the F...

In this episode of Insights, host Eric Hacopian examines Armenia’s recent parliamentary motion supporting EU membership, considering its symbolic value, political realities, and the misleading narratives surrounding it. He also analyzes Sunday’s mayoral election in Gyumri, Armenia’s second-largest city, critiquing the dysfunction of local politics and the potential implications for next year’s nat...

In this episode of the CivilNet podcast, Ani Jilozian, Development Director of the Women’s Support Center NGO in Yerevan, examines the pressing issues surrounding domestic violence in Armenia. She discusses the early grassroots efforts to raise awareness as well as the passage of last year’s constitutional amendments that strengthened legal protections for victims. She also highlights the continuo...

Pavel Baev is a political scientist and security expert specializing in Russian military affairs and Eurasian security at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). He delivered a speech titled ‘Curtailed but Ambitious: Russia’s Role in the South Caucasus’ during the conference “Gathering Storm: Regional Security in the South Caucasus Amid the Global Order Crisis“ organized by the Caucasus Institut...

In a speech titled ‘The Wider Black Sea Region in the Context of the Global Crisis’, veteran Romanian diplomat and former Ambassador to the Council of Europe Gheorghe Magheru discusses what can be learned about state-building in the South Caucasus from the experiences of the other countries in the wider Black Sea region. Magheru delivered his talk at the conference "Gathering Storm: Regional...